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Sunday, June 6, 2010

5 Weeks & umbilical granuloma

On Friday we took Nate to his one month check-up!

The main concerns I had was his baby acne and the constant rash on his bottom....

Since the acne is the most obvious, the doctor started with that concern. Brian had called into the office last MOnday afternoon about the acne. He was told by the phone nurse that it "wasn't infant acne" and that we should be treating it with Lowila "soap" and hydro-coritzone lotion....

I was totally uncomfortable putting the hydro-cortizone on Nate's face... he's a baby who LOVES his hands near his face, or his hands in his mouth or rubbing his eyes... so to have the lotion THAT close to his face was disturbing to me... not to mention that it's a strong, adult treatment on a little ones face. But my good husband, wanting to be a good daddy and following nurses orders put the hydro-cortizone on Nate's face. By Thursday, I had also put the lotion on once or twice....

So the doctor asked if I had been doing anything for the acne.... and I told him about the Lowila "soap" and cortizone that the phone nurse told us to use. Our doctor couldn't BELIEVE we had put it on Nate's face! And he was VERY surprised that the nurses had given us that advice... Needless to say, the acne hasn't had any lotion on it since!!!

AS the doctor examined Nate, he saw Nate's belly button. It has had "crunchy" stuff on it since the stump fell off. I regularly have been cleaning it with the alcohol and since it didn't show signs of infection I hadn't thought much of it.....

Well, Nate has something called umbilical granuloma. From what I understand, it didn't heal right and has a "growth" that was under the cord that is "leaking". So the "crunchy" stuff I have been cleaning was from this "growth". The doctor treated it as best as he could with silver nitrate and said that it shouldn't be wet or "leaking" after the procedure. But he seemed a little apprehensive since he said that Nate's belly button was really "deep".

A few hours after the procedure when I changed Nate's diaper, the spot was still leaking. So I called back into the office and they scheduled an appt for Nate on Monday morning to be seen again.

***The problem isn't huge or life threatening, but when there is a health or any problem with your kids, especially when they are soo small, it's tough on parents. Brian and I have watched and cleaned Nate's belly looking for improvements all weekend... one spot is drying out;) but his belly button still is leaking... so back to the doctor we go.

One humorous thing about the appt was that I was concerned about the rash on his bottom, so I left Nate's diaper open for the doctor to see it.... but the doctor was concerned about his belly button and didn't notice.....

Nate peed everywhere!!! LOL!! Even got the doctor!!! The floor was soo soaked, I eventually put towels on the floor so I wouldn't slip!!

OK..... onto the fun stuff:)

Nate weighs 12 lbs which is 95% for little boys

Nate is 23 inches which is also 95%

His favorite thing to do is watch our faces while being held... he will just watch us soo intently!!

He also loves his tummy time but has started to enjoy the little toys dangling from the playmat, swing and bouncey seat.

He's been better at night. He'll wake to eat and load a diaper, but he goes back to sleep pretty easily... of course he IS snuggled in bed with Mommy and Daddy!!

Nate's day usually starts at 9am!! He'll nurse in the earlier hours but always gives us a few smiles and then falls right back asleep.... perfect time for showering, breakfast, etc!

The Sleepy Wrap still has magical powers over him... he'll fall asleep in minutes when he is in it... Mommy has learned to do a lot of housework with Nate asleep in the Sleepy Wrap:)

And Sunday night he gave us his first HUGE blowout... YUCK! Definitely benefit of living right next to the church since it required a bath for Nate and some how Mommy's new white shirt missed the mess completely:) YAY!!

He still seems to be a pretty content kid. As long as he's held, fed, clean and feels "safe" he's good. He loves to smile and the kids (and parents) LOVE to see him smile too:)

Emery had really bad baby acne too, that lasted weeks. Thankfully it all went away eventually :) LOL about the pee all over the doctor's office!! So funny. Those little boys sure know how to make a mess!

And as for the diaper rash... I would totally suggest using cloth diapers. Bria was sensitive to disposables, and every kind gave her a persistent rash. Once we switched to cloth, she was fine :)

LOL about him peeing on the doctor!I'm sorry to hear about the advice the nurse gave you over the phone. Hopefully she will be reprimanded for that. She needs to talk to the doctors or a real nurse before giving advice. I say that because most of the time the phone people are not registered nurses, but medical techs.

Hi Kelly! I have followed Drea's blog for a while, and through her, I have enjoyed lurking on your blog too! I just wanted to throw a quick suggestion out there for your little one's acne, if it still hasn't improved. We use a cleanser called Cetaphil, and it is hypoallergenic and 100% safe for the entire family. It's what my husband and I wash our faces with, and it's also what we use to bathe our sons with. It is remarkably gentle on the skin, and leaves a film that moisturizes, so it won't irritate the skin more and cause more acne problems. Hope that helps!

The Crew

We are a young family with 4 little sweet blessings!! Together we are learning to love the Lord, each other, our extended family, friends and our neighbors!

Anna is 12 and is the best big sister around!! She works hard in home school enjoying math, science and history! During play she likes being Lydia and Chris' teacher as well as practicing the piano, working with horses and her bunny, Mr Darcy, and

Christopher is 11 and is the definition of "all boy"... LEGOS, fishing, tools and weapons! He loves math and retains details from stories and history amazingly well. We love his drawings and stories, his fort building skills and his compassionate heart. Chris blogs about his drawings.

Lydia is feisty and mature at 9!! She's a princess tomboy... One minute she's sword fighting with her brothers, the next minute she is making bracelets with her sister. Lydia loves reading! Her servant's heart and her contagious smile make her a joy! Lydia blogs about the pets at our house.

Nate is our busy 6 yr old!! He loves his siblings and tries to keep up with them!! He provides the entertainment and a lot of the distractions in our days. It's an exciting time watching him learn new things every moment. We all adore his funny statements and crazy antics!